1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to fishing lure apparatus, and in particular, to such apparatus containing or capable of containing a removable fish attractant, such as a light source or an olfactory attractant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self-contained chemiluminescent light sources are well known. General descriptions of such light sources may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,597,362, 3,576,987, and 3,539,794. At least some such light sources comprise a cartridge within which there are two chambers separated by a frangible interior wall. The two chambers contain two different chemicals. The outer wall of the cartridge as a whole is flexible, whereby it can be squeezed, bent or twisted to break the frangible interior wall. This allows mixture of the two chemicals previously separated by the frangible wall; the chemicals react to produce light for a certain period of time.
It has also been known to place such sources on or in fishing lures. However, in genera,, where the devices have been carried largely externally of the lures, they have protruded therefrom, sometimes forming relatively sharp angles and the like, and this has, for example, caused problems by interfering with proper action of the lure in the water.
Also, whether the chemiluminescent cartridge was carried externally or internally of the lure body, it has in general been the practice to provide special cavities or the like for receipt of the chemiluminescent cartridges. In some instances, it has been suggested that the user of the lure could simply make a hole in an existing lure body and place a chemiluminescent cartridge therein. This is clearly troublesome, and difficult for the user, and would probably not result in adequate means for retaining the cartridge in the lure.
Examples of the use of chemiluminescent sources in fishing lures are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,839, 4,589,221, 3,921,328, 3,861,027, 3,895,455, 4,610,103, 4,638,584, and in the various commercial publications disclosed in the Prior Art Statement submitted herewith.
Olfactory fish attractants have also been known. They may be applied to the exterior of a lure body, in the form of a liquid or a more viscous flowable or formable substance, but it is believed that their effect when thus applied is quickly dissipated and/or diluted as the lure is used in the water. In some instances, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,152, it has been suggested to use fish attractants in solid form in a cavity in a lure body. However, the special formations required in the lure were fully as complicated and troublesome as those for chemiluminescent attractants.